Eugène Girardet

Private Collection, Paris (acquired in the 1950s)
Purchased from the above by the present owner

Paris, Salon des Artistes français, 1906, no. 711

Yoshino Shirota, La vie et l’œuvre d’Eugène Girardet, (diss.), Paris, 1994, fig. 311, illustrated in a postcard of the present work

The canvas has not been lined. Ultraviolet light reveals signs of retouching along the extreme edges and a few minor spots towards the lower edge. There are a few minor surface scuffs and a faint stretcher mark is visible. This work is in very good condition, and would respond very well to cleaning.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Girardet hailed from an artistic Swiss Huguenot family, and even before his teacher Jean-Léon Gérôme encouraged him to visit the Orient he had long had the travel bug from his uncles Karl and Edouard, who had travelled to and painted Egypt; and from his father Paul, who had engraved episodes of the colonial war in Algeria after Horace Vernet. In 1874, he left for Morocco, then travelled to Tunisia and Algeria, for which he developed a particular fondness. He spent subsequent visits in Algiers and Boghari, but above all in El Kantara and Bou-Saâda, where he met Etienne Dinet (lots 9, 12, 14), who later made the oasis his home. Girardet painted simple everyday scenes like the present one: herds of goats in the dust, prayers in the desert, laundresses in the wadi, people going about their business among the red stone walls of the villages.